Why Support Coggeshall?

Coggeshall Farm Museum operates within its means on a modest budget that takes full advantage of volunteers, membership, charitable contributions and community involvement.

When we can build something, fix something or create something ourselves, we do it, often with the help of volunteers. As a living history museum, the work we do to maintain our facility is part of the interpretive experience. Read our latest newsletter to learn more about our work.

Building Strength Through Partnership

We actively partner with many groups, businesses and organizations to achieve the best result for the smallest financial investment. These partnerships include collaborative work on educational programming, historic preservation, events, marketing, communications, outreach and fundraising.

Some of our current partners and memberships include:

Association of Living History Farms and Museums

Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum

The Bristol Historical Society

The Bristol-Warren School Department

Explore Bristol

The Herreschoff Marine Museum

Linden Place

Mount Hope Farm

New England Museum Association (NEMA Stats Project)

PreserveRI

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

The Rhode Island Historical Society

Roger Williams University

The Tomaquag Museum

The University of Rhode Island

Grants Expand Access to school children

Coggeshall Farm Museum is focused on expanding access to school children across Rhode Island. While we host a variety of school groups every year, many children attend schools which are unable to fund field trips. We are focused on delivering a high-quality educational experience that directly ties to the curriculum for specific grade levels. And we are equally focused on removing the funding barrier.

That's why we created Sponsor a School, which will help to defray the cost of admission and transportation for Rhode Island schools. We invite grantors to learn more about this program and consider funding it at a level which would provide opportunity to school children across Rhode Island, regardless of the child's or school's ability to pay.

Grants Help Us Attract Tourists to Rhode Island

Coggeshall is one of Rhode Island's historic gems, on a necklace of equally priceless historic jewels that ring the East Bay area. Through our major events, like the Rhode Island Wool and Fiber Festival and the Harvest Fair, we bring thousands of people into the East Bay, including many from out of state and across the country. Tour groups from across the nation make Coggeshall Farm Museum a regular stop. After they leave the museum, they visit great restaurants, shop in boutique stores, hunt for antiques and marvel at our coastline.

Like many of our activities, our marketing and communications relies on hard work, not money. We rely largely on earned media, social media, enews and word of mouth to share our news. Grants or sponsorships that support greater outreach help us to broadcast our events and programming to a much larger audience, attracting more people to Rhode Island and the East Bay.

Grants Sustain the Living History of Rhode Island's Working People

The history of society's most famous and fortunate people is well documented. Coggeshall Farm Museum commands a special niche in the telling of Rhode Island's story, because we focus on the lives of everyday tenant farmers — Rhode Island's original middle class. Ours is the story of hard-working people who gave birth to the American Dream. We are proud to preserve this way of life and share it with future generations who may see a connection to their own life through the lens of history.

Charitable grants are critical in helping us to preserve this historic property, retain highly qualified interpreters, acquire and make authentic period tools and clothing, and deliver educational programming that meets the highest standards.

We would love to tell you more!

We recognize that grantors are faced with an impossible set of choices when distributing funding, and we are honored that you are considering Coggeshall Farm Museum. Please reach out to us with any questions you may have, or schedule a time to visit the farm and experience living history first-hand.

For more information, a copy of our most recent 990, or to discuss how your granting organization can support Coggeshall Farm Museum, please email Board Member Cindy Elder or call her directly at 508-733-2443. Thank you!